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Recruiting Rewind: UGA’s Lorenzo Carter nearly signed with LSU

LSU led for 5-star Lorenzo Carter until signing day (John Bazemore/AP)

Lorenzo Carter was headed to LSU for football until he had a change of heart on last February’s signing day.

Carter, the 5-star defensive end from Norcross High School who is rated as the state’s No. 1 overall prospect, ended up signing with UGA over LSU, Florida and Florida State.

But it was much closer recruiting battle than everybody thought nearly three months ago.

“That was my biggest secret — how much I liked LSU,” Carter said. “I never really told people that, that LSU was leading. LSU led all the way up until signing day. And people at my school were saying ‘You’re going to Florida. You are going to Florida.’ I was like ‘OK, whatever.’ But that was fun.”

It took a last-minute pep talk from family members to switch Carter from LSU to UGA.

“I had some long conversations with my sister and my parents,” Carter said. “They helped me realize how big it would be if I stayed home and played at Georgia. I think LSU did a great job. Georgia just edged them out at the end. The in-state school just took over.”

Since committing to UGA in front of ESPN’s cameras, Carter said rarely a day has gone by where he hasn’t been recognized or congratulated by Bulldogs fans.

“Everywhere I go, I get a ‘Go Dawgs’ — and I mean everywhere I go,” he said. “People know me and recognize me all across the state. I feel embraced. I feel at home.”

The 6-foot-6 Carter has gained around 10 pounds of muscle and weighs around 241 pounds. He reports to UGA for summer classes on June 2, and is expected to compete for playing time behind outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins.

Here’s the rest of the Q&A with Lorenzo Carter:

Have you missed being out of the recruiting spotlight since February? “I love it. I get on Twitter like every blue moon. I look at all the stuff about recruiting, and I’m like ‘Yes, I’m so glad that I’m all done.’ It’s just fun being signed. I’m just recruiting now for Georgia, so I’m at work.”

What is the most creative thing a college did to get your attention? “I would have to say when UGA drew a picture of me. That was pretty cool. I liked that a lot. They did (the portraits) for me and Raekwon McMillan. We didn’t get Raekwon but still it was good.”

How would you rate the quality and accuracy of your UGA portrait? “I looked good in (the portrait), compared to how I look in real life. Raekwon’s picture didn’t look good. It was ugly. He didn’t like it. That’s probably why he didn’t come to UGA (and signed with Ohio State).”

What was the biggest recruiting rumor about you that wasn’t true? “That Bama was my leader at one point. They didn’t really lead. Especially toward the end, it was going to be LSU or Georgia.”

What happened between you and Alabama? That relationship seemed to fade away after Alabama got a commitment from another 5-star defensive end, Da’Shawn Hand of Woodbridge, Va. “I don’t know. Da’Shawn is a great player and he’s going there. They got him instead of me. I was like ‘OK, that’s cool. I will just go to Georgia.’”

LSU’s Les Miles gave some advice (AP)

What’s your funniest story from recruiting? “Probably Les Miles talking about girls. Girl talk with Les Miles was kind of awkward because you don’t think of him as a ladies man. But he seems like he knows what he’s talking about.

What girl advice did Les Miles give you? “’Don’t be rude when they call late at night.’ So I was like ‘OK, I won’t be rude. I just won’t pick up the phone.’”

Any other funny stories involving Les Miles? “We were about to go play a basketball game, and he called while my coach was giving a pre-game talk. I looked at my coach and said ‘Coach, it’s Les.’ My coach just gave me a dirty look. So I called (Miles) back after the game.”

What’s your biggest regret from recruiting? “I really don’t regret anything. I feel like I did a great job of taking it slow. If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn’t take all (four) official visits. They were so tiring. Official visits are tiring.”

Which college was the hardest to tell “no” to? “Probably (Florida State defensive coordinator Charles Kelly) because of the relationship we built. I hate telling people ‘no.’ My high school coach knows that I’m too nice, so he had to let them know.”

Which college disappointed you the most? “Notre Dame was pretty good. I liked them. The assistant coach stayed on me, but I never really got a chance to connect to the head coach (Brian Kelly). Or really (Jimbo Fisher) from Florida State. But if I had built a good relationship with Coach Kelly, I would’ve considered Notre Dame more because it’s a great school for engineering and that’s what I want to major in.”

Carter’s goal is to help UGA win a national championship (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

How much negative recruiting was there between your final four schools? “Not a lot. Every once in a while, you hear something negative that might rub you the wrong way. But, for the most part, the schools I talked to, they spoke positively about each other.”

What recruiting advice would you give to high school juniors? “Just don’t believe the hype. There is hype with every school. You have to do research and find out everything on yourself.”

If you were in charge of the NCAA, what’s one rule change you’d make to improve recruiting? “Flying parents. We had to drive to LSU, and that was dreadful the whole drive. I mean, if we could’ve have flown, that would’ve been perfect. But we had to drive because my parents couldn’t afford to fly and I wanted them with me on my visits to help me with one of the biggest decisions of my life. Just flying would make it so much easier on everyone.”

What expectations do UGA’s coaches have for you this season? “They tell me I need to be ready to play. I need to get into shape. I think that’s a big problem up there right now, trying to get the players in shape so they can play fast for a long period of time. That’s what they let me know: That I’ve got to be ready to play fast.”

Do you have any messages for UGA’s fans? “Thanks for your support. I love Georgia. I can’t wait to go up there and do big things. I’ve got to try to bring a national championship to Georgia. That’s the goal. And that’s going to happen.”

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" I think there's a BIG PROBLEM up there (Athens) right now....getting players in shape....what is CJT doing? Even CJP stated UGA has too many fat and slow players...what is CJT doing? Another self appointed mistake by CMR!!!! CMR: Too loyal to a fault....causing UGA a chance for CMR and UGA to win a NC....TIME FOR CMR TO WIN A NC!!!!!

UGA is having a tough time with some in state recruiting right now, but a good record in any given year or better even a couple of years changes the whole scenario. These young folks like to go with a team that has had success, as it is easier to see themselves playing for the Sunday League that way. UGA has been able to draw a good deal of quality athletes from out of state, to buffer the in state loses so I am not so worried about this.

Tamps... How dare u come on a recruiting blog and post your opinion in a respectful manner. You should know better than to post any negative comments no matter how mild in manner if it's directed at a UGA player. Jump in line with the rest of the sunshine pumpers. He was a 5 STAR for crying out loud. Being dominated by the only kid relatively close to his size on the entire schedule.... what's the big deal?

Potential.....that is what I have been saying, and that potential will be realized if he:

1. Puts on 20 to 30 lbs. (he is way to thin)

and/or

2. Gets a lot stronger to take on SEC OL.

and/or

3. Improves his pass rushing techniques and stops relying so much on just quickness off the snap.

The issue in the Booker T. Washington game (did not see him play against the other guy you mentioned) was that the BTW OL was very quick and very strong....and he stifled Carter all day because he did not have the muscle to battle head to head with him, nor the technique to get by him either. I watched that entire game and came away a lot less impressed with Carter that day....and so did a lot of other people who watched the game (including some Dawg fans at the time).

@TampGator1 you sir, are a hater. If Carter had signed with Florida, you'd be riding him until the end of time. But seeing that he signed with UGA and not Florida, oh he's not a good player and got "dominated" against a 2-star. I don't know what game you were watching, but I saw differently. Now unless you want to talk football and not hate on UGA every chance you get, then do yourself a favor and get lost. 3 in a row baby and we're going for the 4th over the Gaytors from Florida. Get used to it. Tebow is gone.

I said what I posted on here after the Booker T. Washington game, which BTW won by about 45 points and Carter was totally ineffective in that game. Obviously, you did not watch that game. And BTW won the high school national title by the way. And, at the time DawgGoneIt.....Florida was considered the leader for Carter's services. Just so you know what and when I posted. And I am not a hater. I am just giving my honest opinion about Carter. I do know for a fact that Florida went in another direction concerning Carter and got the 5-star DE out of Louisiana instead and Bryan out of Wyoming instead. And Bryan entered early and impressed everyone this spring as a future star, and he is bigger and stronger that Carter, and very quick. And the kid from LA will be enrolling this summer and LSU and a bunch of other major programs wanted him very badly. So, sir, you are completely incorrect in your appraisal of my post about Carter. It is just what I see about him....now. Does not mean he will not develop into a star, but he has a lot of growing and developing to do, and that is the same view of most of the ESPN recruiting people on their recruiting program during the year about Carter. One thing you will find is that most of my posts are not biased. I try not to be. But, sir, I think you are very much biased from the posts that you make. But, again, just my opinion.

Based on what data is Mason greater than every QB on Florida's roster? But based on biased opinion, you may think so. But let me tell you something. Driskel, Morningwheg, and Grier all looked very productive in Roper's spread offense......and Trenton Harris is on his way this summer as well.

@TampGator1@DawgGoneIt So what is happening with the 2015 recruiting class? Muschamp has one 4 star and five 3 stars. O'Leary is worse with only one 3 star. Meanwhile the U and FSU are reeling them in.

Muschamp has repeatedly stated, although he consistently signs a top star rated class, that he does not pay much attention to the star ratings when recruiting players for Florida's needs.. In fact, one of the best players from last year's class during spring practice (he enrolled early) has been Teven Bryan, a three star DE recruit from Wyoming. But I would expect, when all is said and done next February, Florida will end up with a very highly rated recruiting class in 2014/15,

That's gonna have to change in the SEC Mr Carter against OT's and guards that are 6'6 350 lbs. They won't be nice to you. I hope he has that flip on and off switch. Nice guy off the field but an animal on it

UGA's pass rush is going to be ferocious. I don't know if anybody in the country will get after the passer better than Georgia this season. Floyd, Jenkins, Drew, Mayes, Wilson, Hererra, Carter, etc. Going to be difficult for O-lines to handle UGA up front. Our secondary is a question mark as of right now but if we can get after the passer like I know we can with the beasts we have up front, it should cover up for our secondary until they get their feet under them

@POAD2014@DawgGoneIt Call them what you want POAD but I just think of them as the victorious team the last weekend in November. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

nothing you say, think, or wish changes that. ha ha ha ha ha ha

nope. not interested in hearing you try and ride the coattails of others to put UGA down because we dominate your school. keep trying though because it makes you look smart when we all know how bad you are hurting inside because we dominate you.

I bet you were one of those folks glad that all that NFL talent left UGA after the 2012 season? You recall that group thinking UGA defense would be much better after those folks left. I have read some Bama fans stating that we will be better off now that AJ has left as well so it takes all type fans.

@KeepOnSmilingWetWillieWho said I was glad that Jarvis Jones, Ogletree, Rambo, Shawn Williams, John Jenkins, Kwame Geathers, Cornelius Washington, Sanders commings, Branden Smith, etc left? I'm talking about 2014. In 2013 we had no idea who Leonard Floyd was, now he's a potential All-American with his pass rushing skills. UGA is loaded in the front 7. I said our secondary is a question mark but what team doesn't have questions marks heading into fall camp? I believe in UGA and I think our defense will be hard to get through especially up front. And these weak tackles that think they're going to block Floyd and Jenkins one on one are fools.

@ATL1432Wants to study engineering but not any really respected engineering schools were on his list then he chooses UGa? Housing Degree here we come. UGa is getting more engineering but who cares they have no respect in those degrees.

@JimAB@ATL1432 I honestly did not know. It appears the creation of the school was made official in 2012 with the first classes for ME and EEE starting in 2013. I guess I had just never encountered a Georgia Engineering grad in professional engineering circles and somehow missed the announcement.

@POAD2014@NCDawgoooo I'm impressed...you made itall the way to the D's. Good god you are pitiful.

The whole point was that you spouted off before you knew the answer, fool. You did what you always do... you allowed your bias to spew forth without even checking the facts first. You have zero credibility because you post from hate.